A Stylish Couple’s Journey From Strip Club To Seamless Commitment.OUT.COM
2017-01-04

Michael Fisher, Stylist, The Wall Group

There was this strip bar downtown, the Pussycat Lounge. I was there with friends, and Michael was on a date he didn’t quite know was a date. We locked eyes. My first thought was Italian stud. I went over, and his friend asked how old I was, because I was 29 and Michael was 11 years older. I was a little drunk and swung around and said, “Why, you wanna have a threesome?” That was the end of that friend. So then we made out for a while and left the club.

He had reservations because I was much younger. He didn’t want to relive his 30s. But now it’s been 14 years. We’re not married. We got engaged early on, like everyone did when it became official in New York. I had my grandfather’s ring refurbished and was going to give it to him for Christmas, but then I was like, Why am I sitting on this fucking ring? So I proposed to him in Paris on Valentine’s Day. He got a little mad I did it first. He has this tough exterior, but he’s such a softy.

Sex is great on the weekends, hotel sex is better, Monday-night sex is eh. You have this other, more intense intimacy, which is about knowing someone so thoroughly. We like to hang out. We like to work together. Since he’s been appointed creative director, I’ve styled every show. He’s the only guy with whom I’ve felt I could be myself.

Michael Maccari, Creative Director, Perry Ellis

That first night was fun, and the next day we were still super into each other. He was supposed to move to London, so I wasn’t expecting much. Then his job fell through, and it was like, “Now we have to deal with this.”

He surprised me with his proposal — I was supposed to do it. I was older, the daddy. Everyone was running to the altar and getting married like lunatics. People get married and have kids, but I think there’s got to be another way: our way, through the middle.

I kind of pushed him into styling. He’d stay over at my apartment and the next day grab my clothes and put them together in a completely different way. I sat back and said, “What about styling?” We work together on shows and campaigns. I think in the beginning everyone thought that’d be a problem, but it’s pretty seamless.

He’s very much a gentleman. I’ve always said his mother raised him right. He gets up, pulls the chair out, holds the door. He’ll do it for me, but I appreciate it most when he does it for other people. I’ll immediately think, I should have done that.

Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.

Positive images of people like me... The truth of the matter is that we all need to see people like ourselves. So everyday, I'll post a photo, drawing or some other artwork that depicts Same Gender Loving People as what we are... Only Human.

The sun shined on “Moonlight,” which won the Oscar for Best Picture during Sunday’s night’s 89th Academy Awards.

Actress Faye Dunaway, who presented the award for best picture, announced that “La La Land” had won before realizing she made a mistake.

She then announced that “Moonlight” had won the Oscar for best picture. The cast of “Moonlight” ran to the stage, hugging each other as they celebrated their surprising win.

Blacks took home a record five Academy Awards. Winners included Barry Jenkins and Tarell Alvin McCraney for best adapted screenplay for “Moonlight,” a film about the coming of age story of a gay black boy growing to manhood under brutal and homophobic circumstances in Miami.

Mahershala Ali won an Oscar for best supporting actor for “Moonlight.” Ali is the first Muslim to win an Oscar.

The official prologue to Alien: Covenant introduces the crew of the mission as they gather for a final meal before entering cryosleep.

Set aboard the Covenant, a colonization ship on its way to a remote planet to form a new human settlement, the main crew (all couples) and their android, Walter, enjoy their final meal together before cryosleep.

Conceived by Ridley Scott and 3AM, directed by Luke Scott, and produced by RSA Films.

Ridley Scott returns to the universe he created, with ALIEN: COVENANT, a new chapter in his groundbreaking ALIEN franchise. The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination, they must attempt a harrowing escape.

In Theaters - May 19, 2017

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I am so looking forward to seeing this latest installment in the Alien series. And now, for reasons other than that it's sure to be another great thriller from Ridley Scott...

One of my favorite past-times is identifying who I think are the hidden gay characters in television and films. To be honest, I think it bugs my husband when I want to point them out to him. But more and more often, "we" are not hidden anymore, but our lives are openly portrayed on the screen, and the power of this is immeasurable... I can still remember, as a boy watching late-night television and seeing the film, "The Boys In The Band" for the first time. Seeing a wide-range of gay-identifying characters on the screen and realizing the hope that it inspired in me probably saved my life.

Thinking back to being a confused and scared boy trying to come to terms with a reality that everyday I was being told was wrong, was important to me... It's still important that "we" be able to see and identify with characters who are like us. It confirms what we all know deep inside, but many still spend years denying - that we are normal too.

Now this is why I feel this issue and this film is truly important... in reading through people's online comments on this film, lots (and I do mean lots) of homophobic comments are being made about the fact that a gay couple are among the colonist selected for the mission in this film. It saddens me to read so much ignorant ranting, although in the Trumpian age, I am not surprised. But what most bothers me it that people attempt to use "logic" to justify their hatred.

A common theme amongst the haters, is: "Why would there be a gay couple on a colonization mission, they can't reproduce, this is just some Hollywood PC BS..." So here's my response to the "logic" of the haters...

"We" are there because it makes perfect sense (scientifically speaking). If "gay" was not good for the survival of our species, then natural selection would have eliminated the trait from the human genome long ago. And yet, same-sex attraction, pair-bonding and mating behavior is exhibited by not only humans, but by virtually all animal species as well...

And this is why, in humans as in most species, the same-gender attracted members serve as surrogate parents and assist in ensuring that the offspring of the species survive. Same-sex attracted animals are frequently observed to parent orphaned offspring of their species. And this same behavior is widely practiced in human culture as well. Moreover, amongst we humans, the "gay super uncle/aunt phenomena" is widely recognized. "We" dote and fawn over our nieces and nephews and provide additional resources to ensure their success and by proxy the extension of our own gene pool. So why wouldn't enlightened scientist of the future planning a colonization mission to another planet not know of the benefits of having a gay couple included in the party?

Astronaut Sally Ride, PhD aboard STS 7 in 1983

And then, let's not forget that "we've" already been astronauts in real life... Although we have yet to see an openly gay astronaut "slip the surly bonds of Earth..." Sally Ride was not only America's first woman in space, but she was also following her death in 2012, revealed to be a lesbian, who was survived by her partner of some 27 years, Tam O'Shaughnessy.

Of the more than 300 Americans who have gone into space, I doubt that Sally was the only LGBT person. Perhaps in the near future, as America's next generation of manned space flight takes to the stars we will see in real life, that what the cinematographer's art bring to us in science-fiction today.

Finally, I am so delighted that amongst the cast of Alien: Covenant is the talented and openly gay black actor, Jussie Smollett. Smollett is following in the footsteps of Neil Patrick Harris and others, by refusing to be type cast as a strictly "gay" character, or for that matter, even a stereo-typically portrayed black character. I am glad to see that Hollywood understands that while it might help to understand a character, you don't have to be heterosexual to portray one, in the same way you don't have to be gay to portray a gay character (think James Franco, Daniel Radcliff, et al.)

So, next time you're watching a film or television program, look for "us," I promise you that "we" are there... And as we move forward, you may not have to look so hard anymore.

Most couples chuckle when asked: "how did you two meet?" Often the chuckle is to do with the fact that they met on social media. But, in the case of Corey and Cristian, we were the ones who chuckled. That's because these two met at Carnegie Mellon University where Corey was rushing Cristian's fraternity. We are always tickled by a good old-fashioned love story that begins IRL!

"I think we were gonna meet regardless," Cristian pointed out. Not only did Corey and Cristian have a fraternity in common, they each also have a best friend named Rachel and Rachael! "The Rach(a)els" happened to be best friends with each other. And, as BFFs do with their best gay friends, they endeavor to set them up. Cristian also admitted that: "[He] already knew who Corey was and was starry-eyed."

The early days of their getting to know each other involved grabbing coffee with "the Rach(a)els." But, as Cristian described their first date, he admitted that Corey "tricked [him] into it!" Corey asked Cristian to join him for a "quick dinner" at Lulu's Noodles in Pittsburgh. "We had a lovely dinner," Cristian described. When the check came, they each put in their card, but Corey offered to bring the waiter the bill to keep up the ruse of the “quick dinner.” He came back and reported to Cristian that "they didn't take Visa" with a twinkle in his eye and smirk on his face. "That's when I understood we were on a date," said Cristian. Corey described it as "super suave!" The two laughed.

The 80s party where Cristian & Corey made it official.

And, not too long after the first date Cristian issued a sort of an ultimatum: "I told him that unless he was interested in a long term relationship, I didn't want anything to happen between us!" He explained that a random hook up between fraternity brothers would just make things awkward. "I really raised the stakes and... [laughing] I guess it was worth it!" "I think we had a chance to talk right up front about what our intentions were and kind of commit to it and we've been together since," Cristian said. That was seven and half years ago.

After graduating, the two moved together to New York. As Cristian pointed out: "It was a given that we would live together." "From that first conversation, we knew we were committed so there was no real timeline for getting engaged or married," Corey said. "And, it wasn't legal then." But, there had to have been something in the stars given they signed their lease on the day same-sex marriage was made legal in New York!

On a trip to Sweden, Cristian made note of a comment Corey made about how magical it was to him when an engagement was a surprise. "I filed that away. Some people don't like the surprise element, but if I am gonna propose. I can't give it away easily." And, given Corey was also thinking about proposing in Cristian "it was like a ticking time bomb about who was going to propose first!" Ultimately proposals would have to wait while the couple focused on moving to Los Angeles.

Photo credit: Emmy Hagen Photography | IG: @emmyhagen

Once settled on the west coast, Cristian took to planning the engagement. Ten months before the actual day, he started looking for rings and informing their families of his intent. He decided that their 7th anniversary would serve as the day he'd pop the question.

To kick off their weekend, Cristian gave Corey his anniversary present: "a big scientific telescope, a bottle of whiskey and a surprise Airbnb in Joshua Tree." Cristian described how: "in my mind, Corey would be looking through the telescope and turn around to find me on one knee." As you can imagine, this didn't quite go as planned!

"We are both super nerds and when you present me with something like a telescope, I get very intense!" said Corey. Corey kept moving around the yard looking for a place where the wind wouldn't shake the telescope. Cristian was following with a Bluetooth speaker that would "score" the proposal, but they kept getting too far out of range. "It was all so not romantic," Cristian laughed, "running around the desert trying to get a shot of Mars!" Finally, "Corey wore himself out!"

They took to their terrace where the moment to propose finally arrived. Corey said: "let's just cuddle and look at the stars." The speaker was finally able to play John Legend's "Under the Stars." And, Cristian began reflecting on all of the experiences they'd shared together. "Then he nonchalantly threw in something along the lines of 'do you want to do this forever?’" Corey explained. "I said: yeah, sure, forever! To which Cristian said: 'no seriously, forever,' and that is when I looked back at him and found him on his knee with a ring.

The moment the couple said "I will!"

"I don't think I immediately said yes, though I know I said yes in my mind!" When Corey calmed down a little bit, Cristian presented him with a second ring for Corey to propose in return. "He grabbed the ring and ran into the darkness of the desert," Cristian said laughing. Also laughing, Corey said: "I had to go prepare because I was apparently too overwhelmed. I think that was the first time I’d really been surprised!"

Well, it might have been the first time, but there was yet another surprise to come. Cristian told Corey that they had a second Airbnb teed up in Palm Springs the next day. Corey, having tricked Cristian into their first date, would have the tables turned as Cristain had arranged for 20 of their friends to be in Palm Springs to celebrate their engagement! The rest of the weekend was spent having a blast with their nearest and dearest.

The couple have set March 10th next year as their wedding date. “We don’t want to do anything traditional. Just a big party for our closest friends and family,” said Corey.

When asked what it feels like to be engaged, Cristian answered: “Every time I say fiancé, I giggle!” One thing we know is for certain for this couple, laughter will be the hallmark of their life together.

Love ... must come suddenly, with great thunderclaps and bolts of lightning -- a hurricane from heaven that drops down on your life, overturns it, tears away your will like a leaf, and carries your whole heart off with it into the abyss.

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